How's the surf and surfing in and around Chapala and Ajijic, Mexico?
Luzma Grande - Ajijic Concierge Services
Where is the surfing? There is no surfing in Chapala and Ajijic because we are inland in the Central Mexican highlands. If you are a surfer and you live in Chapala and Ajijic, you have to go to Manzanillo, which is the closest surfing spot, about 6 hours away from Ajijic by car.
(The beach at Playa Manzanillo, Mexico, pictured.)
Where is the surfing? There is no surfing in Chapala and Ajijic because we are inland in the Central Mexican highlands. If you are a surfer and you live in Chapala and Ajijic, you have to go to Manzanillo, which is the closest surfing spot, about 6 hours away from Ajijic by car.
(The beach at Playa Manzanillo, Mexico, pictured.)
I noticed that Panama ranked high on the list of the 'happiness' scale.
Well, as an astute Panamanian told me "That's because Panamanians don't give a s***”, which is pretty much the way it is and this applies to the attitude towards expats living in the Boquete area. Oh yeah, there are the complaints about the increase in real estate and other price increases caused by the foreigners, but by and large, when water or power goes off, there is nay a...
I noticed that Panama ranked high on the list of the 'happiness' scale.
Well, as an astute Panamanian told me "That's because Panamanians don't give a s***”, which is pretty much the way it is and this applies to the attitude towards expats living in the Boquete area. Oh yeah, there are the complaints about the increase in real estate and other price increases caused by the foreigners, but by and large, when water or power goes off, there is nay a complaint, mainly because the locals expect little.
I live in a small village out of the Boquete area where the power goes out weekly, and the water also. If I did not report it, the locals would not. It is simply accepted. No electricity, no water, holes in the road etc.
So who is happier? Me, who frets and demands that things work, or the locals who simply don't give a s***?
Drivers here in Nicaragua do not usually keep their distance and there is poor city planning. If you are an expat planning to move here, you have to be a defensive driver, which we are not used to in the States. In my 9 years here, I have had other vehicles crash into my car about six times and I don’t think that that would ever happen to me in the States by my age, which is 30.
The accidents that I’ve been in are stupid accidents that could...
Drivers here in Nicaragua do not usually keep their distance and there is poor city planning. If you are an expat planning to move here, you have to be a defensive driver, which we are not used to in the States. In my 9 years here, I have had other vehicles crash into my car about six times and I don’t think that that would ever happen to me in the States by my age, which is 30.
The accidents that I’ve been in are stupid accidents that could have been avoided if only the other drivers kept their distance. If I brake hard for any reason, they would crash into my car because they didn’t keep their distance.
However, I am not afraid to drive here. You just have to be a defensive driver. You will always have scratches on your car because perpetually you will never have a beautifully polished car. If you go to the parking lots here, you will see that they are narrow. If the car beside yours opens their door, they could hit your car. If there is a huge gust of wind, and people’s doors just fly open, they scratch your car. It has happened to me and I just thought, “Whatever…” It doesn’t bother me any more because it is stupid to get upset over something that the other person didn’t do intentionally. I’m sure I’ve probably done it to somebody else’s car. I would care about it if I was in the States but I don’t care about it here. I think I’d have oxidized my liver if I cared about it. There are other things that I would prefer to waste my energy on. What I do is just every so often, I paint my car. A lot of expats that I know just don’t care, either.
What’s the effect of illegal drug traffic in Portugal?
John Russell
Illegal drug trafficking is a big problem worldwide, in every country in Europe, and unfortunately Portugal is not an exception. There are 73 drug treatment centers in 14 of Portugal's 18 districts, including the Algarve. The number of newly diagnosed HIV cases among drug users has decreased recently to 13.4 cases per million, but that is still more than 4 times higher than the European average of 2.85 cases p/m. These are unfortunate facts and statistics of 21st century life in...
Illegal drug trafficking is a big problem worldwide, in every country in Europe, and unfortunately Portugal is not an exception. There are 73 drug treatment centers in 14 of Portugal's 18 districts, including the Algarve. The number of newly diagnosed HIV cases among drug users has decreased recently to 13.4 cases per million, but that is still more than 4 times higher than the European average of 2.85 cases p/m. These are unfortunate facts and statistics of 21st century life in Portugal.
(Vila Real de Santo Antonio, Algarve, Portugal, pictured.)
Typically for most Americans, Canadians and Europeans, the best reasons to retire involve having a less expensive lifestyle, and to do something different. They happen to be older, they want to see new things, to be able to experience new things, and they’re excited to be part of an adventure. Sometimes these two reasons come together in the same person.
Moving overseas is an adventure. Whenever you move anywhere new, you’re learning new...
Typically for most Americans, Canadians and Europeans, the best reasons to retire involve having a less expensive lifestyle, and to do something different. They happen to be older, they want to see new things, to be able to experience new things, and they’re excited to be part of an adventure. Sometimes these two reasons come together in the same person.
Moving overseas is an adventure. Whenever you move anywhere new, you’re learning new things. As far as the cost of living is concerned, I tell people that it is up to you. You can live inexpensively here in Panama, but if you want, you can also spend too much money. It really, really depends on the individual. If you have to have some sort of special food that has to be frozen or flown in from the United States, it’s going to be expensive. As an example, ice cream, brought down from the US. We have plenty of it here but I don’t buy it. I buy local ice cream or ice cream from neighboring countries because it’s good and it’s a lot cheaper.
A lot of how much of an adventure you’re going to have and how inexpensively you live really depends on your willingness to try new things and look around. For example, we have a lot of agricultural places to buy fruits and vegetables that are much cheaper than the big supermarkets in the city, but you have to find them and go visit them in order to take advantage of those lower prices. If you don’t want to do that and you just want to go to the supermarket, your experience will be just like in the US, and you’re going to pay higher prices.
What should I know before buying a home in a new housing development in Belize?
Boris Mannsfeld - Boris Mannsfeld & Associates
Before answering , please allow me to make clear that there are many great individual homes, condos, and land to buy in Belize that are not part of a larger, multi-home development, and that the rest of my answer has to do only with buying a home in one of these new, multi-home developments.
If you are considering this, please make sure that you are not just giving money to someone who would live a large life and not really build you...
Before answering , please allow me to make clear that there are many great individual homes, condos, and land to buy in Belize that are not part of a larger, multi-home development, and that the rest of my answer has to do only with buying a home in one of these new, multi-home developments.
If you are considering this, please make sure that you are not just giving money to someone who would live a large life and not really build you anything. When considering a multi-home development, it would smart to buy in a development that already has a dozen homes built. I would make sure the infrastructure is already in, partially in, or is being put in, as you are buying and not just hold on to a promise that, for example, the power or the water is coming. You need to make sure that it is done or credibly getting started.
Check references. Know who the developer is and who the builder is. Ask the developer what they think about the builder. For example, after you ask 20 different people in the village of Placencia (where I live), you can get a pretty decent opinion about the developer; you would know if they have a good track record.
I know a builder in Placencia who did not check the progress of what they were building and spent all the money that the owner gave them. The house didn’t get finished. Obviously, these expats did not do their minimum research. I would definitely do some research and ask some twenty other people.
Editor’s note: We had the privilege in early March, 2017 to talk with Michael Eager. The Eager family is a bit of an institution in the Ajijic area, where Michael’s brother Mark owns a real estate sales company and Michael runs the business that started it all in the 1970s, formerly the Posada, and now the Nueva Posada. In this interview, Michael tells us the unlikely set of events that started it all when Ajijic was just a small, out of the way village and well...
After three years in Africa, first with Habitat for Humanity and then with the Peace Corps, Willy and Karan Schreiber again joined the Peace Corps and were embedded with the Embera Indigenous Tribe in the Darien Province of Panama, next to the Colombian border.
They empowered their new neighbors, friends, and the Tribal Leaders to start a sustainable business selling the extraordinary handicrafts that the Embera create. The result was a Tribal Cooperative for the manufacture and sale...
I just want to bring up some information that very few visiting Panamá are aware of.
If you are a visitor, for the first 30 days, you are 100% covered with medical services, totally free of charge. This is a courtesy service provided by the Tourism Department.
This free coverage includes home (hotel) visits, hospital, or whatever you need to get better, and doctors speak English.
Where is the surfing? There is no surfing in Chapala and Ajijic because we are inland in the Central Mexican highlands. If you are a surfer and you live in Chapala and Ajijic, you have to go to Manzanillo, which is the closest surfing spot, about 6 hours away from Ajijic by car. 
Drivers here in Nicaragua do not usually keep their distance and there is poor city planning. If you are an expat planning to move here, you have to be a defensive driver, which we are not used to in the States. In my 9 years here, I have had other vehicles crash into my car about six times and I don’t think that that would ever happen to me in the States by my age, which is 30. 
Illegal drug trafficking is a big problem worldwide, in every country in Europe, and unfortunately Portugal is not an exception. There are 73 drug treatment centers in 14 of Portugal's 18 districts, including the Algarve. The number of newly diagnosed HIV cases among drug users has decreased recently to 13.4 cases per million, but that is still more than 4 times higher than the European average of 2.85 cases p/m. These are unfortunate facts and statistics of 21st century life in...
Before answering , please allow me to make clear that there are many great individual homes, condos, and land to buy in Belize that are not part of a larger, multi-home development, and that the rest of my answer has to do only with buying a home in one of these new, multi-home developments. 
Editor’s note: We had the privilege in early March, 2017 to talk with Michael Eager. The Eager family is a bit of an institution in the Ajijic area, where Michael’s brother Mark owns a real estate sales company and Michael runs the business that started it all in the 1970s, formerly the Posada, and now the Nueva Posada. In this interview, Michael tells us the unlikely set of events that started it all when Ajijic was just a small, out of the way village and well...